Gun safety has been, and will continue to be, of significant importance to those that enjoy hunting pursuits. In this regard, one cause of injuries among hunters is the accidental discharge of guns when dropped. For example, hunters will sometimes position themselves in raised tree stands so as to obtain a better vantage point from which game may be observed. Obviously, should a hunter's gun drop to the ground when he or she is in a raised tree stand, it is quite likely that the gun will accidentally discharge upon impact and may thereby potentially wound the hunter. It is towards minimizing (if not preventing) such accidents that the present invention is directed.
According to the present invention, a gun safety lanyard is provided in the form of an endless loop of flexible cord having a preselected length and thereby establishing an opposing pair of looped ends. A first one of the looped ends of the flexible cord is attached to the handle grip of a gun's shoulder stock by means of a clove hitch, while a second one of the looped cord ends is positioned so as to encircle the wrist of the hunter's hand that will physically hold the handle grip of the gun's shoulder stock. The second looped cord end could, of course, encircle anything that is relatively stationary with respect to the hunter -- i.e., the hunter's waist belt, web gear, or the like. For convenience of description, therefore, the hunter's wrist will be referred to hereinafter.
The relative size of the second looped cord end that encircles the hunter's wrist may be adjusted by means of a slide clasp. In such a manner, therefore, the gun safety lanyard of this invention may securely tether the gun to the hunter and thereby minimize accidental droppage (and the associated risk of gun discharge associated therewith).
During periods of nonuse, the gun safety lanyard of this invention may be stowed easily by merely removing the second looped cord end from the hunter's wrist, and then encircling the rear end of the gun's shoulder stock with the same, while keeping the first looped cord end attached to the handle grip of the stock. The slide clasp may thus be operated so as to reduce the size of the second looped end relative to the circumferential dimension of the shoulder stock which it encircles. As such, that portion of the cord between the two looped ends may be maintained in a taunt condition, and generally in an axial direction, against the exterior surface of the shoulder stock. By simply loosening this taunt condition -- i.e., by increasing the size of the second looped cord end that encircles the rear end of the shoulder stock -- the safety lanyard may again be placed into service by encircling the second looped end once again around a hunter's wrist.
Further advantages and aspects of this invention will become more clear after consideration is give to the following detailed description of the preferred exemplary embodiment.